How Physio can helpBack pain

Over 80% of New Zealanders will experience some form of back pain in their lifetime. If you’re one of them, then you’ll know what struggle it can be. Back pain can impact on your work and your general ability to keep moving and enjoy life

Is your back at risk?

The most common type of back pain often doesn’t have a clear cause. However there are a number of factors that can contribute to your risk of developing back pain, or aggravate the pain once you have it.

These factors include:

Sitting for long periods at a time (without taking a break)

Poor posture

Lifting objects that are too heavy

Feeling stressed or anxious

Smoking

Being pregnant

Not getting the recommended 30 minutes of exercise a day

Being overweight

Slipping or falling

How can physiotherapy help?

Your physio can identify the factors contributing to your specific back problem and design a treatment plan and management programme that’s just right for you. They’ll also check if any underlying health conditions could be contributing to your back pain.

Your physio can help with:

Assessment and advice on your back pain

Mobilisation and manipulation as appropriate

Specific strengthening and flexibility exercises

Designing a pain management plan

Exercises to improve your posture

Education on how to prevent future back problems

Advice on returning to work, sport and general activities

Workstation assessments, ergonomic analysis and advice on specific work tasks.

Referring you to other appropriate health providers (specialists or GPs) if needed.

Keeping active

For minor back pain the sooner you get back to being active the better – gone are the days where bed rest for weeks was required. In fact, research clearly demonstrates that staying active can help reduce your pain and shorten recovery time in most cases. A physio can advise you on safe, appropriate exercises that will support your back and can advise you on the amount of activity that's right for you.

Does it really work?

Physiotherapy can make a huge difference to your back pain, helping you with treatment and pain management. Most importantly a physio can teach you how to prevent back pain in the future.